Alcoa has celebrated a ground breaking ceremony to expand its Davenport Works facility located in Iowa in order to fulfill the automotive market’s growing demand for aluminum.
Alcoa Davenport Works manufactures aluminum plates and sheets for use in a broad array of industries, including commercial rail and truck transportation, passenger vehicles, aerospace and defense and industrial market.
Car manufacturers have informed that they intend to increase aluminum utilization from 343 lbs per car to 550 lbs by the fiscal year 2025 as they shift from steel in order to improve the performance, durability and fuel efficiency of the cars manufactured by them.
Once completed, the $300-million expansion will add 150 more permanent jobs, bringing the total number of high-value jobs to over 2,300 in Davenport. Moreover, an additional 150 jobs will be generated at the plant during construction. The expansion work is anticipated to be wrapped up by the end of the fiscal year 2013. The Iowa Department of Economic Development’s economic development incentive package played a role in the selection of Davenport for the capacity expansion.
After completion, materials produced in the plant will be utilized for bumper-to-bumper in automobiles and will be treated for improving their adhesive bonding for automotive assemblies using Alcoa 951 technology, an advanced pre-treatment process.
The Alcoa 951 technology is used for improving the bonding performance of aluminum alloy castings, extrusions and sheets. Alcoa will license the technology throughout the automotive industry.
The Quad City Chamber of Commerce’s new economic impact study has reported that subsequent to the expansion, the facility will have over 130 ac under roof and will add roughly $5 million per day to the local economy.
Source: http://www.alcoa.com